Parties gird for possible Hagel fight

Jan. 6, 2013
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Chuck Hagel / Lauren Victoria Burke, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

Once again, Democrats and Republicans are preparing for a nomination fight even before there's a nomination.

In this case, Chuck Hagel for Defense secretary.

Amid reports that President Obama is prepared to put Hagel in the Pentagon, supporters and critics have been busy lining up for and against him.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declined Sunday to endorse the prospective nomination of his former Senate GOP colleague, saying only that whoever is nominated will get a thorough vetting.

"I'm going to take a look at all the things Chuck has said over the years," McConnell said on ABC's This Week. "I'm going to want to see how the hearings go."

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate's number two Democrat, noted that Hagel is a Republican, a former senator from Nebraska, a decorated combat veteran who served in Vietnam, and has vast foreign policy experience. Speaking on CNN's State of the Union, Durbin also pointed out that Obama won the presidential nomination, and is entitled to name his team.

"Yes, (Hagel) is a serious candidate," Durbin said.

Some Republicans, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, said Hagel has been too critical of Israel and too soft on Iran and its nuclear program. Gay rights groups have also been critical of Hagel for his criticism of a gay ambassador nomination during the Bill Clinton presidency.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on CNN that he likes Hagel personally, but he is "out of the mainstream" on foreign policy views, and his nomination would be "antagonistic." Graham also noted that Hagel has cut his ties to the Republican Party.

"This is an in-your-face nomination by the president," Graham said. "This is a controversial pick."

White House officials said Hagel is a leading candidate, but the president has not yet made a final decision on a replacement for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

In a Meet the Press interview a week ago, Obama praised Hagel as "a patriot. He is somebody who has done extraordinary work both in the United States Senate, somebody who served this country with valor in Vietnam. And is somebody who's currently serving on my intelligence advisory board and doing an outstanding job."

As for the gay comment, Obama noted that Hagel has apologized for it.

Though a Republican, Hagel was critical of the Iraq War during the George W. Bush administration. In the fall, he endorsed a Democrat in the U.S. Senate race in Nebraska, former Senate colleague Bob Kerrey (who lost).

Washington engaged in a similar pre-emptive nomination fight late last year when Obama considered nominating United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice to be secretary of State; the president eventually nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., for the post now held by Hillary Rodham Clinton..